Baby ‘cot cams’ plan after inquiry finds Lucy Letby crimes could have been prevented
Baby 'cot cams' plan after inquiry finds Lucy Letby crimes could have been prevented. Related topicsChesterLucy LetbyNHSMore on this storyBaby 'cot cams' plan after inquiry finds Lucy Letby crimes could have been preventedPublished1 hour agoThe key findings and recommendations from the Lucy Letby inquiryPublished5 hours ago
What happened
Baby 'cot cams' plan after inquiry finds Lucy Letby crimes could have been preventedPublished50 minutes agoKey findings from Lucy Letby Thirlwall InquiryPublished8 hours agoAs it happened: Read the live coverage from the Thirlwall InquiryLetby was also repeatedly untruthful in her dealing with friends and colleagues, the inquiry found. Baby 'cot cams' plan after inquiry finds Lucy Letby crimes could have been preventedPublished1 hour agoRepeatedly untruthful, callous and quiet – what we learned about Lucy Letby from inquiry reportPublished5 hours agoAs it happened: Read the live coverage from the Thirlwall InquiryParents were treated 'reprehensibly'The parents of babies were "kept in the dark for years" over concerns that their children may have been deliberately harmed.
Plans will be "urgently" developed for live-streaming cameras after an inquiry report into Lucy Letby's crimes. Image source, PAImage caption, Lucy Letby was convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven othersByIan Aikman, Judith Moritz, Special correspondent and Lauren Hirst, Reporting from the Thirlwall InquiryPublished15 September 2026, 17:53 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoHealth Secretary Yvette Cooper has said officials will "urgently develop plans" to introduce live-streaming cameras on England's baby wards after an inquiry into Lucy Letby's murders and attempted murders.
"Image source, Cheshire PoliceImage caption, The inquiry looked into the actions of managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby workedLetby is serving 15 whole-life terms for the murders and has twice been denied permission to appeal against her convictions. Key findings from Lucy Letby Thirlwall InquiryPublished8 hours agoRegulators not asking the right questionsRegulation has also been found lacking. Image source, Cheshire PoliceImage caption, The inquiry looked into the actions of managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby workedFollowing the death of Baby C, Letby was observed helping to make a memory box with another nurse on the neonatal unit for the infant's parents.
The wider picture
However, Letby had not been asked to carry out this task and was "supposed to be somewhere else and was repeatedly told to be looking after a different child," Baby C's mother told the inquiry. The mother, for example, of Baby E, who Letby murdered, and Baby F, who she attempted to kill, told the inquiry she had had "two thriving little boys" but that "in the space of a couple of hours it had all been taken".
"Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Lady Justice Thirlwall oversaw the inquiry into the Lucy Letby caseThe inquiry also found how Letby falsified Baby E's medical record. Related topicsCheshireChesterLucy LetbyMore on this storyKey findings from Lucy Letby Thirlwall InquiryPublished8 hours agoLetby 'should have been removed from the ward'Published8 hours agoLetby's lawyer: 'My job is to act without fear or favour'Published12 hours agoRelated internet linksThirlwall Inquiry The report also found:The safeguarding action would have prevented the attacks on babies G and H, J, K, L, M and N and the deaths of Baby I, O and PIf safeguarding action had been taken by October 2015 – after the death of Baby I – by moving Letby off the ward, the deaths of babies O and P would have been prevented, as would the attacks on babies J, K, L, M and NIn February 2016, Dr Ravi Jayaram should have reported what he had seen with regard to Baby KIn May 2016, no one raised safeguarding at a meeting with execs – if they had done it would have prevented the deaths of babies O and PThirlwall found there was a "complete failure to protect babies on the neonatal unit" at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby, now 36, murdered seven babies and attempted to murder seven others, one of them twice.
Repeatedly untruthful, callous and quiet – what we learned about Lucy Letby from inquiry reportPublished5 hours agoKey findings from Lucy Letby Thirlwall InquiryPublished8 hours agoAs it happened: Read the live coverage from the Thirlwall InquiryThe report is highly critical of managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital. "Figure caption, Letby "should have been removed from the ward," Thirlwall saysThe inquiry also condemned wider NHS culture, finding evidence of "toxic negativity" that discouraged whistleblowers. Image source, Cheshire PoliceImage caption, Lucy Letby has twice been denied permission to appeal against her convictionsThe consultant paediatrician who had tried to raise his concerns about Letby to hospital management said he accepted the police should have been contacted sooner.
What has been reported
Published2 days agoLucy Letby inquiry report delayed for third timePublished13 MayLucy Letby sentenced to 15th whole life termPublished5 July 2024Related internet linksThirlwall Inquiry Figure caption, Watch: Former consultant hopes Letby inquiry recommendations will prevent deaths happening againByJudith MoritzSpecial correspondent, Reporting fromLiverpoolPublished13 minutes agoOne of the senior doctors who tried to raise concerns about Lucy Letby with hospital managers has told the BBC the final inquiry report makes for "grim reading". Managers "were determined to ensure that we accepted Lucy Letby had been wrongly suspected of doing any harm," the senior doctor explained.
Image source, Getty ImagesByNick TriggleHealth correspondentPublished3 hours agoThe public inquiry into the Lucy Letby case may have reserved the strongest criticism for the Countess of Chester Hospital and its management, but there are big questions for the wider NHS to answer too. Only a year before, the CQC had been warned by another inquiry into baby deaths at Morecambe Bay NHS Trust that it needed to take a tougher approach. Former health secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt told the inquiry he believes it would have prevented a number of deaths at the Countess of Chester if it had been in place sooner.
Image source, Cheshire PoliceImage caption, Letby was convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others ByLauren Hirst Reporting from the Thirlwall InquiryPublished4 hours agoNew details have emerged about Lucy Letby, the killer neonatal nurse whose name can evoke both staunch support and unequivocal disgust. Thirlwall found the deaths and near-deaths of some babies who were attacked by Letby could have been prevented if safeguarding practices had been followed.
What happens next
After Baby E's death, the mother told the inquiry she found her baby was still in his incubator, and she asked Letby why. Figure caption, Watch: The key findings and recommendations from the Lucy Letby reportByLauren Hirst, Judith Moritz, Special correspondent and Nick Triggle, Health correspondentPublished15 September 2026, 12:33 BSTUpdated 8 hours agoThe public inquiry into how serial killer Lucy Letby was able to murder babies at the Countess of Chester hospital has delivered its findings, describing a "complete failure" to protect infants from harm.
The report also found:Director of nursing Alison Kelly, the head of safeguarding, knew she had to act when there was a suspicion that a baby had been harmed, and others might be at risk – but did notChief executive Tony Chambers was dictatorial in his approach to consultants, and executive presentations to the hospital's board were an "exercise in spin"He added to the unnecessary delay in contacting policeHis intention throughout was to stall or obstruct the police investigation, which he succeeded in doing for almost a yearThe report was critical of a raft of internal and external reviews commissioned by hospital leadership after concerns were raised about LetbyDirector of nursing for urgent care Karen Rees had "lost all judgement" and had a "hostile approach", Thirlwall found.
Key information was withheld from inspectors, but the regulator was criticised for not showing enough curiosity to look beyond what it was being told, even though the CQC had been warned by the inquiry into baby deaths at Morecambe Bay NHS Trust that it needed to take a tougher approach. Thirlwall said some of the babies Letby killed could have been saved if managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital had taken action earlier. One of the senior doctors who tried to raise concerns about Letby with hospital managers, consultant paediatrician Dr John Gibbs, now retired, told the BBC the Thirlwall Inquiry report was "grim reading".
Chief executive and registrar at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Paul Rees, said he was "truly sorry for the NMC's failings" in the Letby case and that "we also did not act quickly enough to suspend Lucy Letby".
The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.